Do We Need Stricter Laws For Young Adults Driving Behavior

With kids accounting for three times as many deadly crashes as all of the other drivers, it isn’t any wonder that auto insurance rates for young drivers appear higher than those for other groups. But a new study proves that limiting teens’ driving rights eases back on teenager drinking and driving, which could lead to lower accident rates and lower insurance charges over the long run.

Automobile accidents are the prime cause of death among U.S. children, according to the Nation’s Road Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The mixture of drinking and driving is a major contributor to teen-related crashes. Actually about one-fifth of younger drivers who were in deadly crashes had alcohol in their systems.

Some researchers have revealed that limiting certain teenager driving behaviors decreases the amount of kids that drink alcohol and drive. Graduated driver’s licensing (GDL) laws place limitations on teenager drivers for an appointed period, giving them more liberty as they gain driving experience.

For instance, kids could be limited to driving after sundown or driving with over one other passenger in the automobile for the first year they are qualified to drive. According to the study, kids in states that have the strictest GDL laws are less likely to drink and drive or to get into an auto with another driver who has been drinking.

The laws that had the largest effect were the ones that limited night driving and limiting the amount of teenager passengers in a vehicle and provided the most adult-supervised driving practice. One reason the GDL laws might be having an effect is they give kids less chances to party behind the wheel. We do hypothesize that night curfews may help to stop kids from attending some social functions that occur after dark like teenager parties where consuming alcoholic drinks is more certain to occur.

Let’s take a look at the state of Ohio’s Graduated Driver Licensing Laws

Entry Age – 15 years 6 months

Extended Learner Period – 6 months

Parent Certification – 30 hours

Night Restriction – 9 or 10 PM

Passenger Restriction – No teenage passengers

Restrictions Lifted – Age 18

And compare then to Michigan’s GDL Law for teen drivers:

Entry Age – 14 years 9 months

Extended Learner Period – 6 months

Parent Certification – 30 hours

Night Restriction – 9 or 10 PM

Passenger Restriction – No teenage passengers

Restrictions Lifted – Age 17

Even though the State of Michigan’s has stricter insurance laws the GDL laws in the state are not as strict as the state of Ohio. Even though state by state the GDL laws are more or less the same implementing them have certainly saved lives.

Kids Lives Are Saved Equals Saving Money

While saving lives is the most significant target of GDL laws, studies indicate that the tougher restrictions can also save billions of dollars annually. In 2015, over two thousand lives and $10 billion would be saved if all states adopted similar GDL laws.

The most dangerous year of somebody’s life is the year that they get their driver’s license, and 16-year-olds usually have the highest crash risk. If a license is delayed thru GDL laws you can say that 16-year-olds would be significantly impacted in a positive way.

According to the study, the money saved would come from a decrease in crash-related costs, including insurance costs, wage and productiveness losses, hospital costs, car damage, and police and legal costs. Companies, state and local governments and people are the ones most impacted by those costs through taxes, costs and automobile insurance charges.

Can Safety Have A Premium?

Since the claims history of a selected group influences the whole group’s cheap auto insurance, an extensive countrywide dip in teen-related crashes for a long period at last can lead to lower rates for younger people in total. Some insurance companies already reward teenager drivers that take additional safety provisions.

Some firms offer up to a ten percent discount for youths who take a formal driver’s coaching course. Regardless of whether teenager car insurance quotes do not decline everywhere throughout the US, each family can keep their premiums from going up further by keeping teenager drivers from entering into dangerous behavior behind the wheel.

Here are three laws for teenagers that have decrease the amount of money spent:

Limit teen driving to daytime hours. The strictest states have curfews before 9 p.m

.
Keep friends out of the car. The states with the strictest laws limit teen drivers’ passengers to family members.

Ensure newly licensed teen drivers have adult supervision at all times. In the strictest states, teens are supervised by an adult until they turn 17 years old.

Greg Fowler

Managing Member of AutoInsureSavings LLC, Greg enjoys writing articles to help drivers save on anything related to automobiles. Travel and enjoying the outdoors are some of his hobbies. The best way to reach him is at his Twitter or Facebook Profile.

On 04/10/2016 / Teen driving / Comments Off on Do We Need Stricter Laws For Young Adults Driving Behavior